The Avenged Sevenfold show last night in Baltimore was quite an experience. When we arrived at 7:30 pm, the doors had already been open for almost 2 hours. We waited til about 8:45pm for the 2nd opener, Shift, to get on stage. Burn Halo showed up for their very first concert as a new band at around 10pm.

All in all, Burn Halo did a great job for their first concert together. Their best songs from their set by far, were their singles “Dirty Little Girl”, and their finale song, “Save Me”. But I am confident that once they tour some more, and get more comfortable with their stage presence, they will gain even more fans. Look for these guys.

When Burn Halo finished their set, there was a surprise appearance by non other than Synaster Gates, lead guitarist of A7X. The crowd erupted when he showed up on stage, however, the news he was there to deliver was not welcomed. Syn explained to the now drunk, impatient fans that, yes, they would be playing tonight, but that Matt was at Walter Reed Hospital from a situation that happened earlier in the day, and that they would be back on stage to perform at 11:30pm.

At that point, most of the audience had been there for nearly 5 hours, and you could tell the pit was getting restless. There seemed to be a lot of agitation in the air, but everyone was still sticking around to see their band.

The time finally arrived, and A7X opened with Critical Acclaim. Shadows gave us all an explanation of what exactly happened. It turned out that when Johnny C and Shadows were at Walter Reed Hospital to visit injured troops, Shadow’s face got temporarily paralyzed. Check out the clip below:

The set list seemed pretty standard to previous shows we’ve been to in the past year. Overall, they performed well, I was happy with the show, but sometime was amiss. I give the show a 4 out of 5 stars… not the band’s best. I will say though, that the lighting and light panels on stage were a great effect. And musically, they were spot on. If we hadn’t waited for 5 hours to see them after the show was postponed from September, if there weren’t so many preppy kids with no pit etiquette (stay tuned for a blog entry on pit etiquette), and if the band had put a little more variety into their set list (what happened to all the songs from Waking the Fallen?? – I’ve seen them play Second Heartbeat and Remenissions…) then I would have given them a solid 5.

I love these guys, so it’s really hard for me to be a critic, but I guess I was just expecting more out of them.

*photos courtesy of Courtney and JNoyes

Check out more really great pics from the show taken by Courtney here and JNoyes here

And here is one more clip from the 2nd show at Ram’s Head Live from December 10th – singing Happy Birthday to Zacky V who turned 27!

I’ve been waiting on this day since I ordered tickets in JULY. It was disappointing to show up to Rams Head on September 7th to find that the sold out show in Baltimore had been canceled due to some vocal problems with Matt, but when I found out Shadows was better, it was being rescheduled, and that Buckcherry was not going to tag along, I couldn’t be happier.

And now the day is finally here. Tonight’s the night, and I can’t wait to see em again!

Burn Halo is slated to open up for A7X at Ram’s Head Live at the December 9th and 10th shows. It apprears as if these will be the bands first concerts as Burn Halo. Burn Halo’s lead singer, James Hart, was previously in the band 18 Vision, which has since broken up. Below is additional information from their new MySpace page:

Between May and October of 2007, Hart made weeklong treks to Tusla, OK to write and demo with Maloy, solidifying his objective of what the music would sound like and focusing on writing songs that would construct a well-balanced record. “I knew that I wanted a clear-cut rock ‘n’ roll band, which is something I had not had in the past,” Hart says of the music. “My vision and my brand of rock ‘n’ roll without having to compromise on any of the songs or any of the material. I wanted to make a very straightforward rock album. Something that had commercial appeal, but also something that had a classic, vintage mid-‘80s throwback vibe to it.”

Hart recorded the album from October to November of 2007 with Maloy as producer, laying down the tracks with an army of skilled studio musicians, including Nickelback drummer Daniel Adair, former Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, and guitarist Neil Tiemann who now tours with American Idol winner David Cook. In the studio Maloy was particularly helpful in getting the best possible performance out of Hart, especially when it came time to lay down the vocals. “I really felt like he was able to grasp what I wanted to do and where I wanted to take this,” Hart says. “From a producer standpoint I feel like he really knocked it out of the park. As a vocalist he was able to bring a lot out of me instead of having me go through the motions and just get the part right. Emoting a little more than I have in the past. He was really able to pull a lot of character out of my voice.”

The result is a dynamic, gripping collection of gritty rock songs that immediately engage their listener, ranging from the propulsive “Save Me,” which Hart describes as the “heaviest” track on the record, to the memorable first single “Dirty Little Girl,” which features Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates. Hart also reveals his emotional and musical range on “Here With Me,” an emotive throwback ballad that resounds with immediacy and sincerity, and showcases Hart’s songwriting goals for the album. “I wanted to touch more on real life situations and real life stories,” Hart says. “I wanted to paint a real life picture. I started listening to country and a lot of those songs are very real and down to earth. They are songs about real life, about situations you would come across with a lover or the loss of a friend or heading down a dark path in life. I wanted it to be really simple and easy to digest. I wanted there to be no question about what I was singing about.”

After the album was completed, in early 2008, Island elected not to release Burn Halo’s debut, leaving Hart with the tough job of finding a new home for his project. Nothing felt quite right, though, so Burn Halo’s manager Bret Bair formed his own label Rawkhead Rekords through Warner Music Group to release the record. Hart spent much of 2008 finalizing the lineup of his touring band- which he hopes will help write and record Burn Halo’s successive albums- with Aaron Boheler on bass, Joey Cunha on lead guitar, Allen Wheeler on rhythm guitar, and Ryan Folden on drums. All that’s left is to show it all to the world. “I think this is a real statement album for me,” Hart says. “Anyone who is familiar with me and my past is going to be able to get this record. They’re going to understand why I made this record and that this is the record I’ve been wanting to make.”

Here is Avenged Sevenfold’s newest video for their single “Dear God”. I love the way this video is shot and really enjoy getting to see the guys behind the scenes in their everyday lives on the road. Granted I am SURE there are many pluses to what they do, but as fans, we really take advantage of everything these guys sacrafice while being on the road and away from their families and loved ones for months on end.

My favorite parts of the video are the ones with Matt and Val. It makes me smile 🙂

This post is a long time coming, and I’m sorry for taking so long with this. A few weeks ago, I had tickets for the Avenged Sevenfold sold out concert at Rams Head Live in Baltimore. I was so stoked about it, and was thankful that Shadows Fall would be the openers instead of Buckcherry. When we arrived at the parking garage behind the venue, and where the tour busses park, we noticed that the band’s tour bus was not there. It was 3:30pm and the band should have arrived by then. When we get closer to the garage, the attendant told us the band has postponed the show because the lead singer (M. Shadows) needed to fly back for surgery on his throat. We were thoroughly disappointed. We decided that since we were already in Baltimore, and drove almost 1 hour to get there, we stayed and found a bar to watch the football games.

We ended up going to the bar next door to have a few beers. I highly recommend this place but can’t remember the name, it’s some Mexican restaurant, but the beers were like 32oz for only $5… can’t beat that. When we walked in, I turned around and saw the members of Shadows Fall sitting in the corner minus the lead singer Brian Fair. That was pretty cool, and a bunch of people were approaching them to say hi. I didn’t quite recognize anyone except for the guitarist.. he’s kind of amazing at what he does.

There were many other A7X fans there doing the same thing we were, so that was kinda cool to hang out with the other fans. But it did suck that we couldn’t see the band. I’m bummed that A7X won’t be around, and I was SO looking forward to seeing them WITHOUT Buckcherry, but it just didn’t end up to work out I guess. A few days later, the band issued this statement regarding the tour dates in September:

Avenged Sevenfold deeply regret that they must cancel their U.S. shows on the band’s current fall tour in order for frontman M. Shadows to rest his voice.

Shadows first began to experience problems singing during the band’s show on September 6th in Huntington, West Virginia. After being unable to perform the next night at a show in Baltimore, Shadows flew home to see his doctor, who diagnosed vocal fatigue. Fortunately there is nothing on Shadows’ vocal chords that requires surgery, but he has been prescribed vocal rest so that he will be able to resume touring without interruption.

Though Avenged Sevenfold feel terrible that they have to disappoint fans who bought tickets for the first leg of the tour, the band are happy to report they will be able to return to the road in October. The tour will resume on October 15th in Osaka, Japan, and the band will back touring the U.S. with Buckcherry, Shinedown and Saving Abel starting on November 4th in Casper, Wyoming.

M. Shadows adds “I feel as if I’m letting so many people down, especially the fans we were supposed to see this month, but after a little rest it’ll be back to the usual craziness everyone expects of A7X. All of us are so excited about going out with Buckcherry in November; our fans will love them as well as Shinedown and Saving Abel”.